These are the Years
by thisgirlcalledD
Summary: "It doesn't matter how slowly you go... just don't stop." A new collection of one shots, each inspired by a different prompt. First up: "Beginnings"
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, Dee here! Thank you for checking out my work :) __Love it or hate it, please feel free to tell me!_

**Disclaimer:** _All rights and characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. (I can only hope I've kept his creations in character...)_

* * *

_I. Beginnings_

In the beginning, he'd had no one.

No mother. No father. No family. No friends.

The third had always looked out for him, though. To a lonely child like Naruto, having the Hokage on his side almost made up for all the missing pieces in his life. (It did not make up for the fact that he had never heard his father's laugh, nor ever see his mother's smile… but it did help.)

But eventually he had gone as well.

Then Jiraiya showed up, and with his arrival a new sense of warmth and protection. He filled the void that only a father ever could. (And for that Naruto was forever grateful.) His three years spent with the pervert had been the most memorable years of Naruto's young life – but that, too, had eventually come to an end.

But then Jiraiya died, because not even a Sannin could escape Death's call.

And Naruto had cried. And cried, and cried, and cried, because now, despite the bonds with his friends and the new-found acknowledgement from the villagers, he felt that he was truly alone again.

But then she jumped into his life – quite literally – and he realized he had never been alone to begin with.

She had always been there for him, quietly watching from the shadows. At first, if he were to be honest, he'd found it to be a bit creepy. But the more he thought about it, the more it warmed his heart. All along, she had been there, rooting for him when nobody else did. She had empathized with him before anyone could have ever had the chance. She had loved him, way before he himself had known what the emotion really meant. He could never thank her enough.

And now, as he stood next to her, hand white and throbbing from her vice-like grip, he could only thank her again for the gift she had bestowed upon him.

A son.

Naruto Uzumaki had a son.

The nurses whisked the child away right after the whole ordeal, Sakura instructing them of what to do while absently healing the Orange Hokage's nearly broken left hand.

("I didn't know she had it in her." Sakura smirked, and Naruto could only mutter his agreement as he watched his tired wife begin to drowse off.

"Neither did I.")

Half an hour later their little bundle of joy was returned - safe and clean, and with an adorable blue cap snug on his tiny little head.

Naruto poked Hinata on her cheek to awaken her, a dreamy smile still fixed on her lips as she tucked the newborn close to her chest.

"Naruto-kun?"

The orange-clad Hokage never looked up from the whiskered-face of his child, wondering in amazement if this was really his life. "Yes?"

"I was thinking… of a name. H-how about Mina–?"

Hinata did not get to finish the sentence, as Naruto maneuvered around their child to give her a long, passionate kiss.

"How did you know?" he asked when their lips broke, glancing at the baby's spiky blond locks. His eyes weren't open yet, but it didn't matter. Byakugan or not, Naruto would still treat his son with all the love and attention he himself had dreamed of as a child.

"...I could tell from your eyes."

Naruto smiled as Hinata wiped an escaping tear from his eye. "Thank you, Hinata. Thank you _so much_." Hinata said nothing. She only smiled, lifting her free arm to welcome Naruto's hug. "I love you."

"Aishiteru, Naruto-kun."

Naruto thoughts drifted to two navy haired Uchihas.

_Get ready, bastard_. Naruto visibly grinned. _Once Kaiori-san gives birth to your son, the Uzumaki's will be knocking on your door every day._

Naruto's expression softened as his thoughts turned to the other Uchiha. _Sorry, Obito-san, __but this reality is better than any dream I could have come up with._

Actually, this was better than anything he could have ever wished for.

This was a new beginning: for him, for his family, and most importantly, for his son.

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How was that? Leave a review and let me know!

Next up on the list... _Welcome_

_Until next time,_

**_Dee_**


	2. Chapter 2

_II. Welcome _

Although you could never tell from the look on the stoic two year old's face, Shizuka Uchiha was happy. Today was the day her brother would arrive, and another member would be added her clan.

"Are you excited, Shizuka-chan?" Hinata asked.

The raven-haired child did not respond. Instead, she nodded her agreement, never taking her eyes off of the blonde bundle that Hinata was currently feeding with an orange bottle.

"Oba-chan." Shizuka responded, eyeing the three-month-old with distaste as he spit up some milk, "Will the new baby be as disgusting as Mi-chan?"

Hinata chuckled, wiping the spit off the offending child's chin. "Let's hope not. Otherwise, I don't think your Otou-san will be very happy."

"Hn." Hinata chuckled once more. The little girl was so like her father, it was adorable. "When's Oji-chan getting here?"

"Actually, he should be getting here right about…" An eruption of girly screams echoed in the hallway, followed by a rowdy _I'm coming, teme_! "…now."

Just then the waiting room doors flung open, presenting a breathless and red-faced Hokage.

"Is he here yet!?" Naruto yelled, a bouquet of some petal-less peach and yellow roses gripped in his right hand.

"He isn't." Hinata and Shizuka answered in unison.

"Da…nggit."Naruto said, changing his choice of words after receiving Hinata's warning stare. "And here I thought I was missing everything. I even got into a fight with Shizune over all the paperwork!"

"I'm sure you came here as fast as you could." Hinata kissed his cheek and handed him their son once he sat down in the chair beside her. "And you even stopped for flowers."

"Hehe, yeah." Naruto smiled, turning to greet the purple-eyed Uchiha sitting on the hospital floor. "Want one, Shizuka-chan? I'm sure you're Ka-san won't mind."

"No thank you." Shizuka declined. "My daddy says not to accept things from Uzumakis."

"What! But Shizu-chaaaan!"

Nonetheless, Shizuka did not relent, instead ignoring him in favor of cozying up to her Oba-chan. As her Oji-chan cried to Minato about all Uchihas having a cold heart (Minato animatedly clapping all the while), Shizuka asked her auntie, "Ne, Oba-chan. Do you think I will be a good oni-chan?"

Hinata's lavender eyes widened slightly. "I think you will be the best, Shizuka-chan. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" She climbed over into Hinata's lap. "Daddy says that when I grow up, I have to protect my new baby brother. I have to love him with all my heart. He said that Ita-oji-san loved him so much that he died for him to protect him from bad people. But I don't wanna die for someone I've never met. Does that make me a bad oni-chan?"

Hinata frowned, feeling a little too uncomfortable to answer that question. It was not until she had begun dating Naruto that she had really interacted with the infamous avenger, and even then it had taken her a couple of months to get comfortable enough to actually get to know him. And it was not until a few months after she had become clan head did she learned the truth about the infamous massacre, and with it, the knowledge of the overburdened individual who had beared it all for the sake of the village. Hinata felt that talking about such an inter-clan matter with the young child when she herself was an outsider would not be appropriate.

Then she felt the big, warm hand of her husband cup her shoulder and smiled softly, feelings reassured (like always) as she stroked the young girls raven tresses. "That's doesn't make you bad. Not at all, sweat heart. I think a bad oni-chan wouldn't have made a birthday card and hid it in her sock to give to her little brother for when she first sees him."

Shizuka gaped, Hinata's 'all-seeing-eyes' surprising her once again. "Sneaky Oba-chan! How did you know?"

Hinata giggled. "Well, I may have caught a glimpse when you were trying to hide it." And then she kissed the little girl's cheek, taking her small hand to point to the blue bag sitting on the ceramic-tiled floor. "What Oba-san also knows is that a bad oni-chan wouldn't have helped me make a blanket for her new brother so that he wouldn't get cold."

"And she wouldn't ask a thoughtful question like if she were a bad oni-chan or not." Naruto commented.

"A bad oni-chan also wouldn't be at the Hospital waiting for her brother, especially when she should be in bed."

Three heads turned to meet the tired gaze of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Daddy!"

"Teme!"

"Congratulations, Sasuke-san."

After picking up his daughter and nodding his head to Hinata in thanks, he pointed to the bouquet of crumbling flowers gripped in Naruto's hand. "I take it those _things_ are for Kaiori."

"They're flowers!" Naruto said, shaking the bouquet to emphasize his point. A few pettles fell to the ground as he did so. Minato gurgled, a sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Seeing the foaming saliva come out of the offspring's mouth, Sasuke's lower lip curled.

"They do smell nice." Hinata added.

"Aa. Well, I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

"How is Kaiori-san doing?" Hinata-asked, taking Minato from Naruto so that he could hand Sasuke the bouquet and small bag.

"She's resting. She said the smell of antiseptic was a bit overwhelming." Hinata's bangs hid the quirk of her brow.

"That's good." Naruto grinned. "And the baby?"

"Araki." Sasuke corrected, and Minato gurgled again. "He's well. Despite being born two months early, there were no complications." He said it in such a way that Naruto almost thought he was going to continue _as expected from a Uchiha_.

"Daddy, can I see him?"

"…Aa."

He turned around, starting to head back to his wife's bedside.

"Hey! Don't we get to see Araki, too?" Naruto started, following behind him, but felt a tug on the back of his shirt and turned. Hinata was shaking her head, mouthing _privacy_.

"Thanks for watching Shizuka. I'll come by next week. You can see Araki then.""

"Uh, yeah." Naruto said, letting Hinata lead him towards the exit. "...See ya' then."

"Bye-bye, Shizuka chan." Hinata smiled, and she saw a small waving hand peek out from behind Sasuke's shoulder.

"By the way, Ino and the others might stop by to take a peek." Sasuke suppressed the urge to groan. "I had to tell her what the flowers were for or else she wouldn't give them to me."

"_Thanks._"

"Anytime. Bye, Shizuka!"

"Ja."

* * *

"Sasuke, stop coddling me. I can at least do this much."

The man ignored her, continuing on his way to the Hokage mansion. The entrance was slowly coming into view. "You shouldn't be walking right now."

"I shouldn't be alive, either, yet here I am." His grip on her tightened, but Kaiori did not yield. "Please. I'm sure this cannot be good for the baby either."

She felt him stop and slowly put her down. When she felt her bare feet hit the ground she immediately stood, taking a second to adapt to the new location.

"There are stairs."

"I can see that." Kaiori smiled, but allowed her husband to take her hand and lead her up the steps anyway. Kaiori was soundly blind, and had been for most of her young life. As a child she had learned to adapt by using her elemental nature, Earth, and the genjutsu teachings a strange man whom she had saved in her youth had shared with her. It still amazed Sasuke how she had managed to survive all these years, especially when he knew of her past involvement with Otogakure – a village thriving on survival of the fittest.

"Can you ring the doorbell while I wake Araki?" Kaiori asked, and Sasuke _hned_ in response. After pressing the doorbell he glanced back at his wife. She had taken to using the pad of her thumb to caress the baby's nose, the boy's purple eyes becoming more and more aware as she did so. "Araki-kun, it's time to wake up." She whispered. And then, to Sasuke, "Please warm a bottle."

He was already on it, of course, surprising himself at how attuned he was to his child. It seemed that Kaiori's mothering nature towards her children was starting to rub off on him. After using a small flame jutsu to heat the bottle, he handed it to her.

"Thank you." She said, not even looking as he handed the object to her. "Did you ring the bell?"

"Aa. I don't know what's taking the dobe–."

"**Congratulations!**"

A chorus of voices greeted the Uchihas as the door opened, a number of Konoha inhabitants already inside. Naruto stepped out from beside the door and beamed at his bestfriend.

"Hey teme!"

"Did we surprise you?" Shizuka asked, popping out from behind Naruto's leg.

Kaiori was the first to recover. Lowering herself so that she was at her daughter's level, she motioned for Shizuka to come hug her. "Yes, I was very surprised. I'm sure Araki was as well."

The usually stoic Uchiha girl gave a rare smile. "I'm glad."

"I am as well." Hinata said, stepping out from the crowd with Minato on her hip. "We were all looking forward to meeting Araki-kun. Won't you come in?"

The raven haired women smiled pleasantly before complying, but not before looking at Sasuke curiosly. "Are you coming?"

Sasuke, having recovered from his initial shock, shook his head. "Go inside. Dobe, come walk with me for a bit."

Sharing a confused look with the amethyst-eyed woman before he went, Naruto left, quickly catching up to the former avenger.

"What's up, teme?"

"I never said you could throw a party."

"It's wasn't my idea." Naruto frowned. "It was Hinata's. She felt like throwing one after that night at the hospital…besides, it was _supposed_ to be a surprise. What, are you not happy?"

"'After that night'?" Sasuke repeated. "Why would she go through all the trouble?"

Slowly, a serious expression overtook the blonde's face. "Sasuke…you were hiding something from us, weren't you?" Not seeing a reaction from Sasuke, the blonde continued. "Hinata could tell something bad had happened. She said there was no need for antiseptic to be near Kaiori, especially after she had just given birth. When I asked Baa-chan, she agreed. So what aren't you telling us?"

Sasuke silently cursed the Hyuuga leader for her observational skills. He had wanted to keep that night's happenings hush, hush. Only Sakura, the medical staff present, Kaiori, and himself were supposed to have known. Though he supposed that with her lineage and background in tracking, if anyone should have figured it out, it should have been Hinata. "…Kaiori almost died."

"What!" Naruto shouted, eyes wide, and the static that suddenly surrounded Sasuke was warning enough to stay quiet. "But I thought you said there'd been no complications!" Naruto whispered furiously.

"For Araki." Sasuke reminded him. "For Kaiori, it was an entirely different experience."

"…What happened?"

"The toll on her body was too much." Sasuke said, back shivering as the memories of that night returned to him. "Her chakra had started fluctuating. Pretty soon her heart gave out entirely. She died."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Then how is she…?"

"I restarted her heart."

* * *

_He had been crying, practically insane with grief as he did so. Why did everyone he love always have to leave him?_

"_Let her go." Sakura whispered into his ear, grip on his shoulders tight as they watched the heart monitor flat line. "She's gone now."_

_No! She couldn't be! He thought of his two year old daughter, who was currently sleeping back in her mother's hospital room while a burly, hawk-masked Anbu with orange hair watched her. His two year old daughter, with deep purple eyes and long raven hair, who looked so much like her mother it always stunned him. And then two the mere newborn only a few hallways away, the son she had gifted him in exchange for her own life. They couldn't grow up without a mother. His parentless childhood had been hard, extremely so, but even now he wished that at least his mother had been spared. He would wish for her lips on his forehead, her soft voice encouraging him whenever the loneliness became unbearable, her reassuring last words to him always haunting him in his nightmares._

"_Your father is proud of you. I'm proud of you, too, Sasuke-kun."_

_This could not be happening._

_He would not allow this to happen!_

_Breaking free from Sakura's grip, he recklessly willed lightning chakra to his right hand. He would try to restart her heart, and if it didn't work, he would try again, and again and again and again until it did._

"_I won't let you go." Sasuke said, right hand connecting with her sallowing skin as he did so. "I will not!"_

_Moments later a beep from the heart monitor was heard in the all-encompassing silence of the room and Sasuke collapsed, relief filling through him. The world began to move again, with Sakura shouting orders in a truly professional fashion and nurses and doctors alike rushing to meet them. In all the commotion Sasuke nearly missed the whispered, heartfelt words._

"…_Like you ever could."_

_For the first time in years, Sasuke laughed._

* * *

"…I don't know what to say, teme."

"Don't say anything." Sasuke said, already making his way back towards the mansion. "It's in the past. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Of course." Naruto agreed, and then, to avoid the silence that was starting to loom over them, he asked, "So, were you really surprised?"

"…Yes."

"Yatta!" Naruto grinned, pumping his fist in the air. "I knew you would be! Hinata kept the whole thing under wraps. The only thing I was allowed to help with was the guest list."

"Speaking of which…" Sasuke said, remembering the array of faces and different forehead protectors making up some of the party goers, "There were a lot of international shinobi there."

"A lot of international citizens, too." Naruto grinned, and before Sasuke could ask him what he was doing inviting _untrustworthy strangers_ to eye his kids, much less set foot in the Hokage's own home, Naruto reassured him. "Don't worry about it, teme. With the Allied Nations still intact after all these years, I think people are getting used to the idea of peace. No one's in a rush to ruin it."

The mansion's entrance was once again coming into view.

"Besides," The blonde jinchuriki's grin broadened, his arm hooking its way around Sasuke's shoulders. "They know who we are. Do you really think there's anyone in there stupid enough to mess with us while we're in home territory?"

Of that, Sasuke could not be too sure. After being teamed up with Konoha's number one most unpredictable ninja, one never knew what to expect from people.

After all these years, he especially did not expect peace.

But as he walked in through the entranceway of the home and saw all of the new, exotic faces, all of the pleasant exchanges, all of the laughing and smiling and eating and having a good time, something clicked inside the male Uchiha.

This was not the world he had grown up in. This was not the world he had known. This was a new world; a world where peace truly could exist.

It would not last forever, for Sasuke knew that wherever there was light, there was darkness. There would still be innocent lives lost, blood still spilt, love still lost in favor of hatred – and yet, despite all this, Sasuke still dreamed.

He dreamed of a world, of this world, one where his daughter and son could look forward to being in every day of their lives.

"Hey, teme, did you check out the banner?" Naruto asked him, a cup of punch in his hand. "We just finished making it."

Sasuke followed Naruto's gaze to where a large white banner had just been hung. On it, the hand prints of what Sasuke could only assume to be the people here decorated the surface, the paint still wet.

Reading what it said, Sasuke could only smile.

_Welcome, Akari_

Yes, maybe peace wasn't such a bad dream after all.


End file.
